The Ukraine-Russia war and the consequent deepening of supply chain disruptions has driven a surge in the prices of various commodities, with natural gas prices among them. For the week ended April 1, natural-gas inventories stood at approximately 17% below their five-year average in the U.S., with the Energy Information Administration pegging U.S. reserves at 1.382 trillion cubic feet.
Also, according to data from the Energy Information Administration, the surge in energy prices has come as average weekly Central Appalachia coal prices, the U.S. benchmark for Eastern coal, stood at $106.15 per short ton on April 1, up to $8.85 from a week ago and at its highest price since 2008. The rise in coal prices has led to higher demand for natural gas. Rob Thummel, a portfolio manager at Tortoise, said natural-gas prices are "sensitive to any near-term supply concerns created by events like a ban on Russia coal exports, abnormally cold weather," or Russian natural-gas export issues, given tight global supplies.
